By Rohit R Phalgaonkar

In Goa one finds various deities and myriad forms of worships. Some deities found in Goa are very rarely found in the rest of the country. For example the worship of Devki-Krishna, Devki the mother of Lord Krishna is worshipped along with her son Krishna, is a rare and unique deity in India.

Apart from this and other such deities the worship of local spirits and ancestors is also very common here. The jaatraa of Masandevi also popularly referred to as the Masnaa Devi Jaatraa is one such festival that not only attracts Hindus but also many Christians. It is yet another example of communal harmony seen in the Narve village of the Bicholim taluka.

Masandevi is worshiped in the form of an anthill in the temple situated amidst a forest. On the day of the jaatraa the anthill is decorated with flowers and a sliver mask. The whole area near the temple turns into a teeming hub of shops and devotees. Just outside the temple is a small sculpture of a tiger facing the Masandevi called the ‘Vaagro’.

The third Tuesday of the month of Shraavan in the Hindu calendar is marked for the Jaatraa of Masandevi. This year the jaatraa was celebrated on the August 31. Devotees from Bicholim, Tiswadi, Bardez and the other talukas of Goa flocked to the temple of the goddess Masandevi in Narve.

The name Masandevi literally means the Goddess of the Graveyard. According to tradition, women who have died during delivery or pregnancy or those who have died accidental or unnatural death are buried and not cremated. It is believed that such souls do not depart to heaven but remain on the earth. In case of homicides it is said that these souls remain on the earth to avenge their deaths.

It is in tradition to make these souls settle on a tree by performing various rituals. In Narve such cases are brought to the area around the Masandevi temple. Once the ritualistic burial is carried out, a copper coin is nailed to a Kaajro tree outside the temple. This is the sign of making the soul of the dead remain near the deity.

Mr Dattaram M Naik an elderly person from Murdivaado in Narve narrates an interesting folklore of Masandevi. According to him on one Sunday a Gauda woman sent her son to bring ‘patri’ (type of leaves used for religious purpose) from the forest. He was attacked by a tiger and killed. His dog had followed him and saw his master being killed. The dog brought the mother to the spot by pulling the ‘pallu’ of her saari. On seeing her son no more the mother gave up her life. The dog feeling guilty of not being able to save his master from the tiger also decided to end his life. The tiger could not bear to see the mother ending her life. He also gave up his life as a part of a penance. Three days after this incident a shepherd saw the three mortal remains changing their form.

The mother turned into an anthill who then became Masandevi - the Protector of Souls - while the son attained the form of a snake so that he could always remain with his mother. The dog changed himself into the Kaajro tree which is outside the temple today. While the tiger turned into a stone. It is said that from that day every third Tuesday of the Shraavan month is marked for the Jaatraa of Masandevi.

Mr Sadanand Shet Narvekar informs that the worship of Masandevi in the form of anthill the Kaajro tree and the tiger is nothing but worship of nature. Since Narve has a lot of cultivable land people worshipped the tiger so that he would protect and not harm cultivations and the village.

Whatever may be the fact, Goddess Masandevi is believed to protect her devotees from evil spirits and souls by keeping them under her vigilance throughout the year, nailed to the Kaajro tree. On the jaatraa night the goddess is believed to release these nailed souls just for one night. That is the reason why the jaatraa is called Bhutaachi Jaatra and this is why after dusk no human is seen in and around the temple area. The area which turns into a bustling area on the jaatraa morning is abandoned by dusk.